Riverdale basketball's Acacia Hayes has ACL surgery, to miss bulk of 2019-20 season

Riverdale's girls basketball team will be without one of its three returning starters for the bulk of the 2019-20 season.

Sophomore point guard Acacia Hayes hopes to be back on the court by late in the regular season or at least the postseason. Riverdale reached the Class AAA semifinals last season after winning three straight state titles.

Hayes tore the ACL in her right knee during a national AAU tournament in Chicago on July 13. She was driving to the basket and her leg got caught up with another player. She had surgery in mid-August.

Initially she wasn't sure how severe the injury was. But after an MRI, the bad news came a few days later.

"I was in disbelief," said Hayes, who was a second-team all-area performer as a freshman. "I had no words. I didn't know what to say. I tried to keep it together as long as I could. Eventually I cried and let it all out."

Hayes had surgery on Aug. 13. Dr. Russell McKissick of Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance performed the surgery and gave the Hayes family an optimistic timetable for her to be healed enough to get back on the court.

That would put her back in game action around late January or early February.

"We're looking at five months, at the most," Hayes said. "That's good. I was doing physical therapy even before the surgery. Dr. McKissick said that would help for recovery after the surgery, it would help me get my range of motion back faster."

Hayes had her two-week post-operation visit Wednesday and is walking without crutches. She had high praise for TOA and McKissick, delivering a message of thanks on Twitter Wednesday.

The 5-foot-7 Hayes, who is ranked by ESPN as the No. 10 point guard in the 2022 class, averaged 10.3 points, four rebounds and 2.5 assists a game as a freshman. She is the sister of current MTSU players Anastasia and Aislynn Hayes and current Riverdale senior standout Alasia Hayes.

After graduating guards Aislynn Hayes and Jalyn Holcomb (now playing at Lipscomb), losing Acacia Hayes for the regular season will be tough on second-year coach Amy Josephson.

"Whenever you get the news that one of your returning starters tears an ACL, it's a blow," said Josephson. "This summer we had to play some games without her because she had an ankle injury, so we just had to have the 'next man up' mentality. 

"I think the kids will be up for the challenge, and it will be a challenge. She has such an infectious, upbeat personality and smile on her face. She's coachable and a joy to be around, and that's what I'll miss the most about not having her on the floor. But she's the type of kid that soaks everything in, so she'll learn a lot on the sideline watching the games."

Riverdale's lone returning starters to open the season will be Alasia Hayes, a first-team all area selection last season, and senior center Katelyn Worley.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

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